Open to Hope Articles

Do you want to read stories of others who have been where you are? Are you looking for bereavement help, and advice? Look no further. We offer over 7,000 articles written by our Open to Hope authors.

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What Comes Next After Death?

Posted on October 31, 2022 - by Greg Adams

The Next Place? Sometimes in grief support groups for adults or for teenagers, a question like this will be asked: “When you think about your special person who died, where […]

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When the Pregnancy Test Looks Bad

Posted on October 30, 2022 - by Ken Lefkowitz

The Pregnancy Test Looks Bad “The baby may be developing the same thing that caused our first baby’s death,” I informed my mother in a broken voice. My face was […]

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Offering Grief Support to Those in Mourning

Posted on October 28, 2022 - by Colleen Friesen

Offering Grief Support I hear many sad tales of people who suffer the loss of a loved one followed by abandonment of people who love them but don’t know how […]

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Mothers After Suicide: Potent Memories

Posted on October 26, 2022 - by Jean Williams

Watering the Apple Tree Less than a year before he died, our son Joshua watered our apple tree often. I doubted the watering he did would help, because the tree […]

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Hope Fatigue: Can We Keep Hope Alive?

Posted on October 24, 2022 - by Sara Striefel

I learned a term recently that inspired a new conversation with myself and with the world around me: Hope fatigue. Hope fatigue itself isn’t new. We’ve all experienced the feeling […]

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Holiday Grief Planning May Ease the Pain

Posted on October 21, 2022 - by Dr. Peggy DeLong

As we enter the holiday season, careful planning is important for those who are dealing with a profound or recent loss. Holiday grief planning can change the season from potentially […]

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Coping with Holidays After Death of a Loved One

Posted on October 18, 2022 - by Dr. Peggy DeLong

The death of a loved one is a traumatic and emotionally painful experience. Coping during the holidays is a particularly difficult time for dealing with loss. Here are suggestions that […]

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Blissful Memories from the Year Before a Loss

Posted on October 17, 2022 - by Colleen Friesen

I don’t know if this phenomenon is typical or atypical. In my grief journey, I try to accept what comes. I believe that God works with our psyche to chart […]

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Overcoming Paralyzing Fear

Posted on October 14, 2022 - by John Beerman

When Fear Calls It seemed to always happen at the most delicate of times. We were in Santa Rosa, California, interviewing for a ministerial position I had coveted for quite […]

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Discovering After-Death Communication

Posted on October 13, 2022 - by Rebecca Austill-Clausen

Learning Bad News The sun beamed brightly as my 34-year-old brother David and I laughed and reminisced while walking along the sandy shores of Coast Guard National Seashore in Cape […]

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